[Kiwami]

I think this was a good one. Not fantastic or anything, but considering how bad these movies can be sometimes I was happy that this one wasn't terrible.

First of all, I thought I would hate everything Ghost in this but thankfully it wasn't that annoying. The thing I really disliked was forcing Akari into a damsel situation even though she did show a bit of character later. The only other situation I kinda hated was yet another faked out dying-scene for Takeru. Jesus Christ, how many did we see now? Five? Six? It was absolutely unnecessary and a waste of everyone's time.

Now on to the thing I think this movie did outstandingly well: The inclusion of Pac-Man. When I first heard of him being in this and after seeing the trailer I thought "Cheap gimmick, no way this works", but it actually does. First of all, Pac-Man makes sense in the world of Ex-Aid and they had a really good idea when they tied Takeru into this and explained the attack on him through the Pac-Man virus fearing its main enemy: Ghosts. It made so much sense that I was truly baffled for a second.

And that carries us to the next thing that worked for me: This being a movie that takes place in Ex-Aid's world and expands on it. I knew about Emu's second operation and the birth of Parad thanks to watching the show regularly before the movie, but they tied it into the show very nicely. Hell, you can even see a very, very short glimpse of Parad being formed before they cut away. That was great.

Then we get to the next big part of this movie: The other Riders. I think Toei did a good job of making you believe that the Rider worlds are connected, at least with Drive, Ghost, and Ex-Aid. They use Takeru as a bridge since he knows both Shinnosuke and Emu and it works for me. True, Wizard and Gaim are bit random but not much more random than the mindless Movie War where every Rider appears just because.

And I like that they got Haruto's actor back, it was nice seeing him again. I'm not even kidding, it is known around here that I don't like Wizard all that much but I was still glad to see Haruto once more. But... as a huge Gaim-fan, I absolutely hated the lack of Gaku Sano. It is my biggest nitpick about this movie, if they had Kota there, all five Riders transforming at once, it would've been epic. I understand it's real world limitations. If someone isn't available it can't happen, but having three recurring actors and then not Sano made me sad. That being said, I was a bit afraid Gaim would sound like a robot with the recycled voice lines and stuff but it really wasn't all that bad. The only time it was obvious was when he was about to finish the GiriGiri-Lady and he angrily shouted "You're gonna pay" or something. It sounded so out of place, if I had to guess it's probably from when he was beaten by an Overlord and really pissed while also in pain at the same time, it really sounded like that and thus unfitting for the situation in this movie.

But I would have to lie if I said I wouldn't have enjoyed the individual Rider-scenes regardless. With their own themes playing in the back and a variety of forms (plus a rather fitting selection of enemies), it was a blast. I really enjoyed it, the Gaim portion especially. That really took me back to when I first started watching Kamen Rider.

The action and effects were great IMO, lots of well done, untransformed action (poor Emu) and the animation for Pac-Man and his Game World was nice to look at.

So all in all I enjoyed this. I would love to see more of this format over regular Movie War stuff since it felt refreshing and new while still delivering the goods I love. It made me forget how much I disliked Ghost for a bit and I could focus on a decent movie with some great fanservice. I can only further like Ex-Aid for this I guess, not only a great show but also a nice movie so far. I hope his solo movie will entertain me even more!